Some vehicles, including many Jeep Grand Cherokees from the 2004 to 2011 model years, and Jeep Commanders from the 2006 model year to the present, appear to have a weak area in the interior door handles, and many of the handles in these vehicles have broken over time. Unfortunately, the interior door handles on some of these vehicles are integrated into the door panel and are generally not serviceable by themselves, instead, the entire interior door panel has to be replaced in order to replace the door handle. For example, the interior door handle housing on the aforementioned Jeep vehicles is not attached with screws but is plastic welded into the door panel. On many other types of vehicles, the interior door handles are serviceable by themselves, which makes the repair much less expensive.
The foregoing information reflects the current state of the art of which the present inventor is aware. Reference to, and discussion of, this information is intended to aid in discharging Applicant's acknowledged duty of candor in disclosing information that may be relevant to the examination of claims to the present invention. However, it is respectfully submitted that none of the above-indicated information discloses, teaches, suggests, shows, or otherwise renders obvious, either singly or when considered in combination, the invention described and claimed herein.